De Wespendief Pernis apivorus van Boswachterij Schoonloo

In three successive years (1992-94), a pair of Honey Buzzards occupied a nest in a Douglas Fir (height of nest 19-20 m). Two eggs were laid each year, and all eggs hatched and fledged Onset of laying was respectively May 23, May 17 and May 17, viz. each year the earliest dates for Honey Buzzards in the province of Drenthe. The adult female was found partly plucked and eaten on 8 August 1994, presumably killed by a Goshawk. This bird was similar to the breeding bird in 1992, as shown by a comparison of moulted primaries (1992) and primaries from the plucking. The youngest fledgling was found plucked on 19 August, probably depredated by a Goshawk.